I think there's something wrong with my copy on the PS3, the graphics are messed up somehow. It's like there's a layer of vasoline on my TV, everything looks soft and blurry... What the hell?

I believe that the PS3 version is being rendered internally at under 720p (630p in this case) and then scaled by the PS3 to 720p. It's a pretty common practice this generation and most people never noticed(CoD 4 is a notable title that does this with almost zero issues) but it did seem to create an issue for some in Halo 3, causing significantly degraded image quality. I think it largely depends on the the TV's processing though- I know that, for me, Halo 3 was incredibly clean looking on my set but that wasn't the case for others. So it's possible that your TV isn't "getting" along with GTA4. If you can rent or otherwise get access to the 360 version you might want to try that- I believe it's rendering at a full 720p.

Picked it up last night at midnight. :oops: Got about an hour and a half of play time before I hit the sack. The controls took a bit getting used to. The cars are very hard to drive and I imagine there will be a ton of people having trouble for a while. You really have to slow down for the turns or you will go flying into the walls and crap. I'm thinking I'll really love the change as soon as I get used to it. My only gripe so far which isn't the games fault is that my tv overscans so the wording that shows on the right side of the screen (money, street names etc) cuts of just a tiny bit. I had the same issue with Bioshock. I really need to get another tv but that's not going to happen anytime soon. :cry:

Oh for those that don't have a gold account there's a pass for a free month. I'm going to jump online tonight and give it a shot.

Right now opinions on the Xbox.com forums seem to be split between disappointment and BEST GAME EVAH!

This sounds like one of those games that may be initially off-putting until you get used to the controls and atmosphere. I also read at least one review that said the beginning starts off a bit slow, and only after a few hours into the game do you really grasp everything you can do. So maybe that's partially to blame.

I don't know, guess I will wait and see when I play tonight. I do think it's awfully premature to start cancelling pre-orders based on people's impressions of a handful of hours of gameplay.

i love the game....but,it does have its problems(the driving like i said,and someone else mentioned as well takes a lot of getting used to)and sometimes being too dark

but there are a lot of things i appreciate..the GPS works wonders,so you never really get lost,the size of Liberty City is not evident at first...but then when you realise there is another 2 and a half islands (not too mention a fully laid out subway system underneath)as well as the one you start on,it starts to dawn on you,especially when every building and every person has a lot ..A LOT of detail

i am hoping the funfair will open up...i have played bowling,pool and darts and i want a go of that minature golf course

When Rockstar ported Bully from the PS2 to the 360 they had a lot of lockup issues until it was patched. I'm wondering if they had put themselves in the same situation, where they have problems with some older 360s (and maybe PS3s for the same reason).

It was Mad Doc that ported Bully, now called Rockstar New England. They had nothing to do with GTA. Realistically every game is going to be prone to lockups to some small degree. Software has bugs, hardware still has bugs, and OSes still have bugs. When you've got a game like this where 10 million+ are going to buy, even 1% experiencing trouble means 100,000 angry people. Hopefully 99% will play just fine.

You can stop lowering expectations for Fallout 3 anytime. I think people here will still buy it. More impressions! I intend to pick this up at lunch and dive into it when I get home, but I'm not liking what I'm hearing thus far. Sounds overall like a large game filled with "meh."

I have a fairly in-depth how-to on driving typed up at work that I hit submit before I left but I guess it didn't go through due to new posts while I was typing.

Anyway, the driving, while very different to the other GTA's is still very much an arcade racer with the major difference of having to maintain speed and not brake during turns. Brake, stop braking, then turn and you'll be fine. You have to prepare for your turns and you can't just twitch the controller left and right and whiz around corners.

Regardless of the early negative feedback here, I am dying to play this game even though I won't be able to for a bit. Maybe 30 mins to play later, but I kind of want a larger block of time to get into it.

The field of view thing you guys are describing reminds me of the Wind Waker, which had the most awful blur on anything not close. Even with that it was the best looking Nintendo game of all time, IMO. I'll wait to see how this looks on my home theater at home before I curse the interwebs.

Oh and ATB, this is definitely not a game for you, I'm kind of surprised you were even thinking about getting it.

Picked up my copy at the midnight opening at my local Gamestop. Ironically, they had a police guard sitting in the parking lot in his car for the whole thing.

Anyway, got home and popped it into my 360 and played for about 90 minutes or so. At first I was disappointed because everything was so damn dark that I couldn't see much. Anytime Nikko would head indoors or under a bridge it became a game of "control the bouncing head" as I couldn't make out anything else. Finally, after about 30 minutes, I got this BRILLIANT idea to open up the options menu and lo and behold...a brightness setting! punching myself in the head for being a complete moron, i pumped it up a bit and it looked a thousand times better.

From what I played it is essentially a GTA game in both spirit in execution. Nothing revolutionary, as some reviewers seem to be saying. But it's quite fun! I like that they use the Saints Row waypoint system with the colored line leading you to your destination, and a slightly altered running system from Bully. Both are welcome additions.

The cars handle a lot more realistically. I know it frustrates some people but I like it. I haven't really had much combat yet, but I did get in a fistfight during a mission and accidentally shoved a guy through a 3rd story window. That was unexpected. Plus, my jaw almost dropped when I ran over a fire hydrant and water started shooting up into the sky. That was a nice touch. I am a bit disappointed in the screen font size. It's tough to read those dang text messages that come up every now and then from npc's. I have to get up and walk over to the tv to read most of them. of course, i'm 122 years old so that may play into it.

speaking of age, it's really sobering to stand in line at a midnight opening for a game, look around, and realize you're old enough to be everyone's father.

p.s. was going to see if any of you other midnight players wanted to do some MP last night but just as I was about to send out invites my damn cable modem dropped my connection. Didn't come back on for the rest of the night.

« Last Edit: April 29, 2008, 02:12:55 PM by hepcat »

Logged

Warning: You will see my penis. -Brian

Just remember: once a user figures out gluten noting them they're allowed to make fun of you. - Ceekay speaking in tongues.

i thought shoving that guy through the third floor window in one of the missions was what you were supposed to do,because i did the same..oh well,LOL

for anyone interested,Kotaku have put up a PS3/360 split screen down the middle video,that at the moment,..doesnt work,BUT,someone in the comments page,has posted a link to a vid that does workthere is pretty much,.nothing between the two,the ps3 version colour looks more ..well,more colour,as the 360 version the faces look pale,wheras the ps3 look like they have a tan...but everything else,looks absolutly the same

Thanks to Caine for making a new impressions thread, the other was a major turnoff to read.

I'm disheartened by all the letdown - but I guess it's fairly typical for any game that receives this much hype and buildup. I've now fallen into the group of 'wait 'n see' people, to decide if I want to get this now, or buy a different game instead.

speaking of age, it's really sobering to stand in line at a midnight opening for a game, look around, and realize you're old enough to be everyone's father.

A couple of weeks ago I broached the subject of attending a local midnight opening to my wife and got an eye roll and a pithy comment. Honestly I didn't really plan on going, seeing that I had to be up at 4am that morning, but I figure it was worth getting some brownie points by agreeing with her that it was silly for me to attend.

For all you newlyweds out there looking for advice on how to be a gamer and stay married for more than 28 years (so far, in both senses ), it's all about building up brownie points and cashing them in on release day.

A couple of weeks ago I broached the subject of attending a local midnight opening to my wife and got an eye roll and a pithy comment. Honestly I didn't really plan on going, seeing that I had to be up at 4am that morning, but I figure it was worth getting some brownie points by agreeing with her that it was silly for me to attend.

I got the same reaction from my wife when I told her that I was going to camp out for a Wii on launch day. I got up at 3am and was the 14th person in line at Target by 4am. Now, over a year later, she plays the Wii well more than I do, and have earned the "no crap" rule if I want to go to a midnight release.

So I scored my 360 copy at a Gamestop midnight release last night. Rolled in at 11PM, no one outside. I walk in and I'm like the 3rd dude there so I pay off my preorder and we chill out for a bit. By 11:45 there were about 20 people in the store. I walk out of the store at 11:50 with my copy. Everytime a big new release comes out I tell myself I"m not gonna camp-out or go to a midnight release and just sleep-in instead, but then I end up doing just that. I guess I just like getting caught up in all the launch excitement.

Having played for about 90mins after getting home, the good 'ol GTA feeling is still there. The world really does feel a lot more alive and random. Still getting used to the controls. For some reason the driving and walking just seems really sluggish (for the driving I can see because of the crap cars you get in the beginning). I ended my night after doing the first date mission. I'm liking it so far.

Please add RoboSim to your XBL friends list. I can't wait to see how the MP is.

A couple of weeks ago I broached the subject of attending a local midnight opening to my wife and got an eye roll and a pithy comment. Honestly I didn't really plan on going, seeing that I had to be up at 4am that morning, but I figure it was worth getting some brownie points by agreeing with her that it was silly for me to attend.

I got the same reaction from my wife when I told her that I was going to camp out for a Wii on launch day. I got up at 3am and was the 14th person in line at Target by 4am. Now, over a year later, she plays the Wii well more than I do, and have earned the "no crap" rule if I want to go to a midnight release.

My wife thought I was silly for going to the midnight release for Halo 2. However during the Wii launch, to my surprise, she actually she suggested that I camp out (I opted to get up at 5am instead). Meanwhile, she didn't really bat an eye when I went to the midnight launch for Harry Potter 7.

Thanks to Caine for making a new impressions thread, the other was a major turnoff to read.

I'm disheartened by all the letdown - but I guess it's fairly typical for any game that receives this much hype and buildup. I've now fallen into the group of 'wait 'n see' people, to decide if I want to get this now, or buy a different game instead.

If you enjoy multiplayer at all I'd suggest getting it because there will be plenty of us playing for quite awhile.

If you enjoyed the other GTA's, I suggest getting it because it's more of the same only better.

If you didn't like the previous ones, not sure if you like it, or sorta liked it but won't do mp, I'd suggest passing until it's cheaper.

honestly, it sounds like some of you are just looking for any kind of little reason to not get the game. if that floats your boat, go ahead...I'm not going to waste a lot of time trying to convince you otherwise. I think Harkonis' previous post sums it up pretty well. even though his first impressions post was pretty negative (which I didn't agree with), he still says this is the best GTA yet, and it clearly is without a doubt. and yes, the MP will be insanely fun

for those of you who hated the previous GTAs, why even bother? they never claimed this game is now some totally different genre or something, you shouldn't waste your own time even reading or posting about it really

for those of you who already bought the game and are enjoying it, insteading of finding little things to nitpick:

1.) the game is WAAAAY too dark by default (360 version). I highly suggest adjusting the in-game Brightness and Contrast settings, don't change your HDTV's settings. after you make adjustments, the game looks a whole lot better. I couldn't see shit at night in alleys or corners, it was literally probably like 95% pitch black

I think the graphics look great though, I totally disagree with Harkonis. yes, I can see the filter he's talking about but it looks artistic to me. YMMV

2.) I do agree with him that the driving feels great, I have no idea what other people are complaining about here. do yall want it to be totally arcady or something? I'm glad they made it more semi-realistic, to fit in with the setting. like Hark says, brake *before* turning like in real life, and you won't have a problem

3.) the melee combat does feel a bit sluggish at first, but once you get the dodging mechanic down, it's a lot easier. I'm still gonna stick with guns though =P

honestly, it sounds like some of you are just looking for any kind of little reason to not get the game. i

For the record, that's definitely not me. I am looking for any kind of reason TO buy the game. If it were the holy grail of video games, and the greatest thing ever, I'd be glad. I am just looking to avoid something that has serious, fundamental flaws (like dated graphics, showstopping freeze bugs, impossible missions, etc). I'm not saying GTA IV falls into that, I'm still evaluating feedback.

I am a bit concerned, since I've yet to pick up and try my game, but when Bully had release problems they did patch it, although the patch took two weeks rather than their promised one week. At least from what read in the comment on Kotaku is seems to be, like the Bully freezes, random and fairly rare.

At 11am I initially went the short walk to Strawberries, an F.Y.E. equivalent. They sure looked like they had plenty behind the counter, but the manager told me without a preorder he could just put me on a list and I guess he'd see if there were any left after the preorderers came? You'd think he'd already know how many he has freed up.

Anyway, went the longer walk to Best Buy and they had them right at the counter. I didn't go upstairs to the game area (it's a 3 story Best Buy) so I didn't get to see how big the piles were.

I don't know if it was just the way they had things stacked but at F.Y.E. there seemed to be twice as many PS3 version preorders on the counter compared to 360.

My impressions so far?? Screw the distributor, since once again Europe got screwed by them, giving most stores around 20 percent of what they ordered...

The reason? "We want to focus on the north american market first"... Sigh, so, its sold out everywhere in Denmark today, and was so about 3 hours after launch...

I'm quite tempted to drop the game because of this kind of shoddy service... I'll have plenty to do with Conan coming out instead of waiting 14 days as it currently looks like we have to here in Denmark at least until next batch ;-)

To be honest, I'm not surprised at the negative reviews here. I saw a few videos of GTA4, and it looks exactly like GTA3 and it's offspring, just with more polygons. A big "meh" for me.

Having gotten off the hype train, I am slowly starting to see that as well. But am still perusing these impressions before I just completely give up. Have heard some good and some bad and some same-o same-o.

My biggest interest is if the MAKES you play through the sex, drugs, and killing innocents stuff in order to actually finish the game. I know I know, it's GTA, but can you play as a good guy in the sense the ONLY people you take out is other bad guys?